


Reminder

by asocialconstruct



Category: Starfighter (Comic)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-11-23
Updated: 2012-11-23
Packaged: 2017-11-19 07:38:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 619
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/570814
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/asocialconstruct/pseuds/asocialconstruct
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Praxis' new navigator settles in.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Reminder

**Author's Note:**

  * For [CherieCherrybomb](https://archiveofourown.org/users/CherieCherrybomb/gifts).



> Happy birthday, sweetdeath!

“You’re the one that got shot down, aren’t you?  Tiberius?” the navigator asked, watching him across the elevator.  “Seems like a waste, if you ask me.  Poiesis was a good navigator, get a dozen fighters for the time it takes to train a navigator that good.  It should have been you.”

Praxis rubbed his temple, fingers catching on the strap of the new eyepatch.  The new reminder, that it should have been him.  “Look,” Praxis sighed at the navigator.  Athos.  He’d have to remember it, have to be civil, even if things were getting off to a bad start.  Grief did things to people, and who was Praxis to begrudge it if Athos had lost a friend.  “We don’t have to like each other but we do have to work together.  Let’s just try to make this work.”

“Whatever you say, fighter,” Athos said as the lift came to a halt at their floor.  He swept out past Praxis without giving him a look.  “But next time it’s not going to be me.”

Praxis stayed out of his way as Athos chose his bunk: the same room he’d shared with Poiesis, but he’d made a point to turn down the room to make it welcoming for the new navigator, to give him a chance to settle in without feeling Poiesis everywhere.  No sense in making the new navigator feel like a replacement or an interloper.

Athos threw his duffel onto the top bunk, what had been Praxis’ bunk since their first day when Poeisis confessed he was afraid of heights.  Praxis settled on the bottom bunk while Athos unpacked his things.

“I was going to go to supper soon, would you like to walk down when you’ve finished unpacking?” Praxis asked.  Athos gave him a look and didn’t say anything.  Just kept unpacking his things, mostly ignoring him except to ostentatiously step over his feet to get to the bathroom

Praxis lay back on his bunk, his new bunk, Poeisis’ old bunk.  There was a photo taped to the underside of the top bunk, missed by the euphamistically named personnel management crew to take his things to send out with his remains.  

The photo was Poeisis and a group of navigators at academy, looking happy and innocent and brave, Poeisis’ face whole like before Praxis had gotten him killed, gotten him a closed casket funeral and a short trip to the nearest star.  Praxis stared at it, looking for any trace of Poeisis in the faces of the others: Abel’s lip unscarred, Bazin and Callisto and Pan and other navigators Praxis didn’t recognize looking excited and optimistic.  Like Praxis had looked, he supposed, at the end of basic, before he realized what war really meant.  

Before he’d gotten this constant reminder of how badly he’d failed at everything he was supposed to do.  _It’ll itch,_ the medics had said.  _It’ll be sore.  Just don’t touch it, it’ll go away after a while.  Try not to thing about it in the mean time._

Praxis rubbed his temple over his good eye as Athos left without a word, fingering the strap of the eye patch.  Don’t think about it, with the reminder of it staring him in the mirror, and taped to the bunk above him, and sneering at him every time Athos walked in the room.  

Poeisis had been a good navigator and a good friend, perfectly named, Poeisis and Praxis, thought and motion, and now all he was left with was motion without thought.

He thought about taking the photo down, no need for Abel and Poeisis and the rest to smile down at him every night, but he left it where it was.  It was only a reminder.


End file.
